All European governments had hoped that with the first weeks of spring, progress in the coronavirus vaccination campaign would mark the beginning of the end of the epidemic: in fact, many countries are facing new growth in infections, they have had to restore the strict restrictive measures. Above all, they face great difficulty maintaining expectations about the timing of the vaccine administration. The news from the countries that have been vaccinated the most, from the United States to Israel, is very encouraging, but the situation in Europe is mostly different and generally going back, although some countries have managed to maintain high rates of administration at a time. As early as January, protect the elderly immediately despite delays and cut delivery by pharmaceutical companies.
The vaccination campaign was organized from an identical starting point for every European country, however AstraZeneca Affair Plans disturbed and created chaos internationally: only initial permits for young people forced countries to review the vaccination campaign by expecting certain groups to be given, then the “potential link” between vaccination and some very rare cases, circulatory problems have led many health ministries to recommend AstraZeneca only For people Less young. These restrictions on the use of AstraZeneca will particularly affect the regulation of vaccination campaigns, which must be rethought in many European countries. Moreover, the uncertainty and confusion in communications at AstraZeneca’s and governments, along with the warning spreading on some media and social networks, have contributed to the increased suspicion of many people towards the vaccine.
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Vaccine delivery times and ability to administer daily are important indicators for understanding what will happen in the coming months. So far 100 million doses have been delivered across Europe and in the second quarter the manufacturers have committed to supplying another 360 million: 200 million will come from Pfizer-BioNTech, which after the initial delay honored contracts signed with the European Union, 70 million from AstraZeneca for 180 million, and 35 million Johnson & Johnson and 35 million Moderna. With these new births, which, however, have to be followed by a triple management capacity compared to the current capacity, the ambitious goal of vaccinating 70% of Europeans by the end of the summer can be achieved. This, however, is net changes due to the AstraZeneca case.
United kingdom
The country that everyone is watching carefully is the United Kingdom, which after leaving the European Union managed to independently negotiate the supply of vaccines and adopted a very strict strategy of giving the first dose to as many people as possible without worrying too much about it. Keep stock for calls. Small country data aside, the UK is the country that has currently managed to vaccinate the highest percentage of the population after Israel: 46 percent of people received their first dose of the vaccine, but only 8 percent. Complete the vaccination course for the strategic reasons explained above. In addition to extremely high management rates, a strict lockdown was in effect for weeks which included a ban on leaving the home except for health or necessity reasons.
The combination of vaccine protection after the first dose with severe restrictive measures contributed to a sharp reduction in infection and in ICU patients. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is complying Promises made in the mitigation plan Measures to reduce infection are divided into four stages. Johnson confirmed that non-essential stores, hairdressers, restaurants, bars, gyms, zoos, parks and libraries will reopen in England alone from April 12. Johnson does not expect the epidemic to disappear by the end of the summer, but he has made clear that as the vaccination campaign progresses, the consequences of the Coronavirus will be more contained and manageable.
Germany
In Germany, 12.6 percent of the population received at least the first dose of the vaccine, while only 5.4 percent got a booster shot. These proportions are very similar to those in other countries such as Italy, Spain and France: with these numbers it is still too early to see the effects on the direction of infection. In recent months, Germany has alternated between openings and closures, leaving a certain freedom of decision-making to the 16 federal regions.
As can be seen from the chart, after the growth in infections at the beginning of January there was a decline and then a new deterioration starting in March. The curve showing the number of patients in intensive care does not seem to have peaked yet, and the German government has made clear that the number of beds occupied in intensive care is of concern. Government spokesman Ulrike Demer said a new year lockdown was being considered, but shorter than those that have been introduced in recent months. “We need an infection that is still less than 100 (cases per week, 100,000 people, ed),” Demer said.
France
On March 31, French President Emmanuel Macron Advertise The third general lockdown, with restrictive measures in effect for a month starting April 3: bans travel more than 10 kilometers from home, schools close until at least April 26, curfews are maintained, unnecessary stores are closed, and smart work is committed. Since the beginning of January the number of new cases appeared to be under control, instead there has been new growth since March.
Macron admitted mistakes had been made in dealing with the emergency. Added to this is the somewhat confused start of the vaccination campaign: in the first two months of the year, vaccination rates in France were slower than in other European countries such as Italy, and there was only an acceleration from the end of February. Currently, 13.7 percent of the French have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 4.6 percent of the population has completed the course of vaccination.
Spain
For now, it appears that Spain has avoided resuming the infection as it did in March in many other European countries, even if the infection rate has not decreased since the end of February. Navarre, Madrid and the Basque Country, along with the cities of Ceuta and Melilla, where the incidence rate exceeds the threshold of 250 infections per week per 100,000 inhabitants, are still considered vulnerable areas.
In Spain, 13.1 percent of the population has received at least the first dose of the vaccine, and here, too, the government is grappling with the AstraZeneca case: Management has been limited to people over the age of 60, and Health Minister Carolina Darias said they are considering agreeing to use a different second dose. For the first. However, at the present time, there are no studies proving the effectiveness of this solution.
In this graph, you can refer to the progress of vaccination campaigns and the infection curve, in hospitalization in intensive care and deaths in all European countries and also in most countries of the rest of the world. Just click on the filter to select the country. Worldwide, the country that vaccinated the highest percentage of people is Israel, with 61 percent of the population receiving at least one dose and more than 56 percent also receiving a booster dose.